


Only in Dreams

by Wreck



Series: 20 fics in 20 days [8]
Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-14
Updated: 2014-03-14
Packaged: 2018-01-15 16:29:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1311547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wreck/pseuds/Wreck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one really understood the long-term effects that the PASIV Device had on daemons.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Only in Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> I've been toying with the idea of an daemon AU for Inception since I had that square on a trope bingo card. I'm not sure if I like how this turned out, but it was fun writing it. 
> 
> Un Beta'd. All mistakes are mine.

“I’ve never seen anyone work so seamlessly with their daemon when building before,” Cob tells Arthur. “Not even you and Geneviève.” 

Geneviève bristles, pressing her ears straight against her back, and Arthur glares at Dom. 

Dom ignores their indignation and heads for the door, Olivia on his heels. “When she comes back, get her building mazes.”

“Where will you be?” Arthur asks. 

“I’ve got to talk to Eames,” he says. 

“Eames?” Arthur questions, trying not to feel the racing of Geneviève’s hart against his own. Trying to act casual, he says, “But he’s in Mombasa. Cobol’s backyard.”

“Necessary risk,” Dom replies. 

“There are plenty of other thieves,” Arthur reminds him.

Olivia bares her teeth at Arthur, growling low. Dom puts his hand on her and she quiets. “We don’t just need a thief. We need a forger.”

And with that he turns, his wolf daemon following him out of the warehouse, leaving Arthur and Geneviève alone. 

 

No one really understood the long-term effects that the PASIV Device had on daemons. The earliest writings confirmed what people had been suggesting for years: in dreams, settled daemons can change form again. It didn’t matter how long they had been settled, even in normal sleep a daemon could shift form. In Dream-Sharing, daemons could often be forced to take a shape consistent with the world that the dreamer creates. 

The ability to control and manipulate the shift of daemons could make or break an extraction team. If the dream structure isn’t strong enough, the form of the daemon won’t hold and the illusion is broken. And that’s why Dom Cobb needs the best extraction team in the business.

This is what makes Eames such an exceptional forger – he can take on another person completely, and Faye, his panther daemon, can do the same. 

The first time Arthur had worked with Eames on a job, he nearly brought the whole thing down when he watched Faye shift into a boa constrictor and wrap herself around Eames, who had shifted into the mark’s girlfriend. Arthur had seen daemons change in Dream-Sharing before, but he had never seen such a convincing human and daemon forgery before. It shook them to their core, and Geneviève spent the rest of the dream cowering in Arthur’s pocket, her white ears sticking out like a pocket square. 

They didn’t talk about it after, but Geneviève stopped cuddling Faye at night, even as Eames and Arthur lay tangled together. After the job was over, Arthur and Geneviève left without a word. 

 

When Dom returns from Mumbai, he gathers the team for a test run. Yusuf and his special compounds immediately impress Arthur, while Geneviève shows a curious interest in Virlomi, his serpent daemon, having met very few serpents before. And Arthur quickly understands Dom’s praise of Ariadne: as she creates, Theseus, her owl daemon, files above and returns with suggestions for the labyrinth within the dream. He’s even pleasantly surprised by the level of detail brought by Saito, and Fumiko his fox daemon. 

But it’s Eames that Arthur is interested in observing as they enter the Dream-Share. It’s only a few minutes into the dream when Eames and Faye shift into figures familiar to their mark. They’re prepared for it this time, Geneviève doesn’t hide and the revulsion Arthur felt the first time is gone; he only sees the beauty and the genius in his work. 

Later, when everyone leaves the warehouse, Eames cages Arthur against the wall, pressing the lines of their bodies together. They still haven’t talked about anything but the case, but Arthur can feel the tension drain from both of them. Eames moves forward to press his lips against Arthur’s when they both gasp – Geneviève is burrowing into Faye’s neck, and Faye's paws are possessively caging her in. 

“Before. I didn’t mean–“ Arthur starts, but exhales a shudder as Faye licks Geneviève’s ear. 

“Oh, Darling, I know you’ve always been afraid to dream bigger,” Eames dismisses. And then he finally kisses Arthur.


End file.
